The Board of Directors (BoD) of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) has suspended Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Corporate Financial Officer (CFO) Imtiaz A Khan Lodhi with immediate effect and recommended to the federal government to place his name on Exist Control List (ECL) , official sources told Business Recorder.
Pakistan Steel is functioning without full-time CEO for the last six months and, as a stop gap arrangement, Imtiaz A K Lodhi had been assigned the responsibility to act as Acting CEO from July 6, 2010 till the appointment of a full-time CEO. However, the Board in its emergency meeting on January 28, 2011 suspended his services with immediate effect.
According to official statement, as an interim arrangement, the Board has placed Wasif Mehmood, Principal Executive Officer (PEO) as the Acting CEO, in addition to his present assignment. "Board strongly feels that an inordinate delay in the appointment of a permanent CEO has already occurred, which is detrimental to the interests of PSM. Ministry of Industries and Production (MoI&P) has been requested to immediately nominate a full time CEO for Pakistan Steel so that BoD may confirm his appointment in its next meeting scheduled on 4th February, 2011," sources continued.
Board, in its meeting also resolved that placing a person's name on ECL is the prerogative of the government. The Ministry of Industries and Production may, therefore, take up the matter with the Interior Division for placing the name of Imtiaz A K Lodhi on ECL. According to sources, Ministry of Industries and Production has already sent a summary to the top brass of the country for appointment of a new full-time CEO.
Recently, at a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), when the attention of the committee members was drawn to the fact that Imtiaz Lodhi had been posted as acting Chief Executive Officer of Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation, PAC decided to officially inform Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to take punitive action against him for forgery.
Reviewing the audit report pertaining to public sector enterprises 2008-09 of finance division, it was brought to the PAC notice that Imtiaz Lodhi had been appointed in ZTBL on a lucrative package as chief financial officer. During the process of verification of his degrees, these were found to be fake, and he was removed from service. "Since his removal from the office, we have been trying to recover arrears from him", an official of ZTBL said.
The committee had expressed surprise that no legal action had been initiated against Lodhi and he was permitted to work as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation. The PAC asked the Prime Minister to intervene in the matter and order the accused to leave the office and recommend filing of a criminal case against him. According to Audit report, "ZTBL appointed Imtiaz as CFO in 2006 with gross salary of Rs 200,000 per month".